Food Service

Darleen Misses Students and Staff

Elementary 2-Hour Delay Menu
French Bread Pizza, Green Beans, Fruit & Milk.

District 1-Hour Delay Menu 
Assorted Cold Items

 The Alternate Choices are a PB&J or a Yogurt Meal.
Breakfast is not served on a 2-hour delay.

Boy with healthy lunch in cafeteria.

FOOD SERVICE OFFICE
607-844-8694
 Darleen Serbaniewicz  School Lunch Specialist  ext. 4206
 Nikki Tinker  Office Clerk  ext. 4205
 SCHOOLS
 Laurie Pullen  High School Kitchen  ext. 5325
 Maureen Murphy-Sims  Dryden Elementary Kitchen  ext. 1457
 Renee Tennant  Middle School Kitchen  ext. 4223
 Sheila Abbey  Freeville Kitchen  ext. 7231
 Linda McMullen  Cassavant Kitchen  ext. 6225


Tompkins County Farm to School Announcement

Dryden Central School District is excited to be participating in Tompkins County Farm to School this upcoming school year! Tompkins County Farm to School is a collaborative effort involving New York farmers, school’s Child Nutrition Programs and Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension. The goal of Tompkins County Farm to School is to increase students’ consumption of healthy farm-fresh foods while supporting New York State farmers. Each month, students will have the opportunity to try recipes in their school’s cafeteria prepared with “Harvest of the Month” ingredients from local New York State farms. In addition to Harvest of the Month recipes, Dryden Central School District will be purchasing local foods from Headwater Food Hub and Slate Foods to serve in the school cafeteria. Headwater Food Hub will provide a variety of seasonally abundant New York fruits and vegetables from up to 180 farmers, and Slate Foods will provide New York beef. The long-term goal of Tompkins County Farm to School is to foster a collaborative food environment involving classrooms, the local community and one which supports local New York Farmers and healthy eating among school children. If you want to get more involved with this effort feel free to reach out to Chloe Boutelle (Tompkins County Cornell Cooperative Extension Farm to School Coordinator) at ceb367@cornell.edu or Darleen Serbaniewicz (Dryden Central School District Food Service Director) at dserban1@dryden.k12.ny.us.

Meal Accounts
  • Each active Dryden student automatically has a meal account set up for his/her use through our One Source POS system. This account is designed to function as a debit system, where parents or students deposit money into their accounts for future use in the cafeteria. The District’s Charge Policy is discussed separately below. Students are also welcome to pay cash for their meals at the time of service if that is more convenient.
  • Deposits may be made by sending in cash or check with the student or by using the online payment system which is described below. Money sent to school should be in a sealed envelope with the student’s name on it. The envelope should be given to the child’s teacher (students K-5) or given to a Cafeteria cashier (students 6-12). Deposits can also be made in person at the Food Service Office which is located in the Middle School Cafeteria. Checks may also be mailed to the Food Service Office using the District’s mailing address (PO Box 88; Dryden, NY 13053).
  • Each student has both a “Meal” and a “General” account set up. The “Meal” account can only be used to purchase full meals. It cannot be used to purchase snacks, extra entrees, drinks or second meals. It is useful for the parent that would like to restrict their child’s purchases. Money deposited on the “General” account can be used to purchase anything for sale in the cafeteria including full meals. The parent should specify into which account they would like the money deposited.
  • Meal prices for the school year: (K-5) Breakfast is $1.35, Lunch is $2.50. For (6-12) Breakfast is $1.40, Lunch is $2.90. Additional milk or juice is $.60 and ice cream is $.80.

My Payments Plus

  • We offer the convenience of online deposits through www.mypaymentsplus.com. This service is also accessible by phone at 1-800-961-7038. The District website has a direct link to the site as well as additional information in the Food Services section. Parents wishing to use this site must first set up an account with them. You will need your student’s ID number which may be obtained by calling the Food Service Office at 844-8694, ext.4206.
  • Once an account has been set up a parent is able to view a student’s transactions for the last 45 days, elect to receive a low-balance email alert, and make online deposits using a credit card or e-check. There is a service charge of 4.75% on all deposits, but the other features may be used for free.
  • When depositing money online, please make sure to indicate whether you wish the funds to be deposited into the child’s “Meal” or “General” account as discussed above. The default setting is for “Meals” which will restrict the purchases to full meals only.

 

District Charging Policy

It is the responsibility of the School Lunch Program to provide a nutritious meal every day when school is in session to those students who wish to participate in the program. It is also the right of the District to receive money for those foods that are sold throughout the year. This money may come through the state as reimbursement, which is why families are encouraged to fill out an application for free/reduced meals each year to assess their children’s eligibility. If students are not eligible for these benefits, then the money must come from the parent or the student. If the student does not have the money to purchase the meal, the student may temporarily use the charge program provided by the District outlined below.

School Charge Policy: It is the District's goal to provide students with access to nutritious no- or low- cost meals each school day and to ensure that a student whose parent/guardian has unpaid meal charges is not shamed or treated differently than a student who parent/guardian does not have unpaid meal charges. Unpaid meal charges place a large financial burden on the District. The purpose of this policy is to ensure compliance with federal requirements for the USDA Child Nutrition Program and to provide oversight and accountability for the collection of outstanding student meal balances to ensure that the student is not stigmatized, distressed or embarrassed. The intent of this policy is to establish procedures to address unpaid meal charges throughout the District in a way that does not stigmatize, distress, or embarrass students. The provisions of this policy pertain to regular priced reimbursable school breakfast, lunch and snack meals only. Charging of items outside of the reimbursable meals (a la carte items, adult meals, etc.) is expressly prohibited. 

Checks Returned for Insufficient Funds: When a check is returned for insufficient funds, a notice will be sent from the Treasurer to inform the parent(s) of the returned check. Payment with fees is expected within fourteen (14) days of the date of the letter. Please send these payments directly to the Treasurer and not to the cafeteria.

Balances Owed at End of Year: All outstanding balances must be paid by the end of June. Notices will be sent home the last
week of school to students owing money. All positive balances will transfer over to the next school year. Accounts not settled may be referred to a collection agent.

Parent/Guardian Responsibilities: If parents or guardians choose not to have their children participate in the School Lunch Program, it is their responsibility to provide a midday meal for those students. If parents or guardians do choose to participate, then it is their responsibility to provide money for their children to purchase a meal. If neither of these choices is consistently made, the School District reserves the right to refer the family to Social Services due to physical neglect.

USDA NONDISCRIMINTION STATEMENT

In accordance with Federal civil rights law and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) civil rights regulations and policies, the USDA, its Agencies, offices, and employees, and institutions participating in or administering USDA programs are prohibited from discriminating based on race, color, national origin, sex, disability, age, or reprisal or retaliation for prior civil rights activity in any program or activity conducted or funded by USDA.  Persons with disabilities who require alternative means of communication for program information (e.g. Braille, large print, audiotape, American Sign Language, etc.), should contact the Agency (State or local) where they applied for benefits. Individuals who are deaf, hard of hearing or have speech disabilities may contact USDA through the Federal Relay Service at 800-877-8339. Additionally, program information may be made available in languages other than English. To file a program complaint of discrimination, complete the USDA Program Discrimination Complaint Form, (AD-3027) found online at:
http://www.ascr.usda.gov/complaint_filing_cust.html, and at any USDA office, or write a letter addressed to USDA and provide in the letter all of the information requested in the form. To request a copy of the complaint form, call 866-632-9992. Submit your completed form or letter to USDA by;
(1) mail: U.S. Department of Agriculture Office of the Assistant Secretary for
Civil Rights
1400 Independence Avenue, SW
Washington, D.C. 20250-9410;
(2) fax: -202-690-7442; or
(3) email: program.intake@usda.gov.
This institution is an equal
opportunity employer.